Will my bg readings improve? Breakfast ideas?

millie_uk

Active Member
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I was diagnosed Type 2 on 10th May. I had a fasting blood test done which was sent to the lab. Next day I received a phone cvall from the doctors surgery saying my count was 11 and I needed an appointment next day with their nurse. What kind of test would that be?

I was given the advice that I can eat most things in moderation but make sure I eat carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, rice etc with every meal and if I am on an outing or on holiday just eat what I want because 'that's what people do'

I then had my next appointment with the nurse and asked her to check my blood. It was 5 hours after I had eaten 2 slices of wholemeal toast, one with marmalade and one with flora. The reading was 13.4

I bought a monitor so I could check my own readings. I changed my diet upon learning I was diabetic and have drastically cut my carbs and have cut out all refined sugars (that I am aware of) haven't touched sweets, baking, white bread, puddings, biscuits, lattes or any of the total rubbish I ate before (I always loved healthy choices but ate far, far too much convenience foods, takeaways and baking etc)

I only got the monitor 2 days ago and both mornings my fasting bg has been 8.2

Yesterday for breakfast (9.30am) I had 1/3 cup of Jordans jumbo oats made with half cup water and quarter cup skimmed milk, 3 strawberries and 10 blueberries. 1 hour later my bg was 13.2

We had lunch at 1.30 and I had a baby belle cheese, half a grapefruit, 6 cherries and a sliver of ham not worth mentioning. Half an hour later my bg was 15.3
3 hours later it was 8.4

For dinner I had home made lentil soup, stewed rhubarb with a half tsp of ceylon cinnamon. 1 hour later bg of 11.3
I was really hungry last night and had some smoked fish, a few pumpkin seeds and a few walnuts. 1 hour later bg of 9.4
Before going to bed it was 8.8 and then 8.2 when I got up this morning.

I hate to think what my readings would have been during the past year because my diet had become horrendous.
I was displaying symptoms of diabetes, I was drinking a litre of water at a time, had several urine infections, thrush almost constantly for months and an insect bite that didn't heal (8 months) I know I should have gone to the doctors months before but I am very busy and we all make excuses not to believe we might have a condition.

Anyway, after my change of diet the thrush disappeared on day 2 and no signs of it returning.
The excessive thirst disappeared on day 2 and has not returned.
The insect bite has healed on week 3 (after 8 months)

Even with the readings I have, I feel so much better and can see the improvement in a short space of time. I was becoming quite ill.

I was told I will not be put on any medication until I have been diagnosed for 3 months because they want to see what a change of diet and some weight loss will do (I am very overweight) Not sure if this is the way they normally do it.
I have been getting back to my walking, I always used to walk along the coast and on the beaches but due to long hours at work had stopped that. I am actually 2 stone less in weight than I was but 1 stone of that was lost with the diabetes symptoms.

My issues are: Will there be any improvement in my bg readings if I stick to the eating plan and I am a bit confused about carbs. This morning 8.2 fasting then had one slice of bergens soya and linseed toast, 2 boiled eggs, spread toast with bertolli spread and a glass of no added sugar cranberry juice, and that put my bg to 12.7 after 2 hours, after 4 hours it was still 11.3

I have found this forum a wealth of information so any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Millie....
 

hanadr

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If you eat carbs with every meal, you won't get your blood glucose under control without loads of medication, since those are just the foods which cause Bg to rise.
I would say to eat as little of that stuff as you can.
Hana
 

Grazer

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Hana's right. You've obviously twigged that the "eat the bread, potatos etc with every meal" advice was typical NHS misguided rubbish.
You're doing the right thing with what you're cutting out, but watch the "hidden" carbs. You're probably well read on it, but remember all fruit also has carbs. Bananas in particular are hard for most of us to tolerate. Berries are the best - strawberries, raspberries etc. Oats are tricky and lots of people have omelettes, boiled eggs or other very low carb breakfasts, as that seems a tricky time of day for controlling BGs for lots of us. I can tolerate some cereal, and am best ihn the mornings! So we're all different. Keep on eating then testing after 2 hours to work out what works for you. It takes a while for BGs to settle sometimes, so don't panic yet! If after a while with much reduced carbs you still keep getting in double figures, it might mean you need some meds to get you under contro9l. Not the end of the wortld. Some do that, then wean themselves back off them when their BGs settle.
It is normal to try diet and exercise first for a while.
DON'T forget the exercise bit. I find that some reasonably strenuous exercise about an hour after eating helps to pull the BGs back down quicker and faster. I do just 10 mins hard graft on an exercise machine. others go for a BRISK 30 min walk. Work out what's best for you.
Good luck!
 

Dillinger

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millie_uk said:
I was given the advice that I can eat most things in moderation but make sure I eat carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, rice etc with every meal and if I am on an outing or on holiday just eat what I want because 'that's what people do'


Millie....

That advice makes me despair. But the upside is that you have found this forum within a month of diagnosis if you read about limiting your carbs and watching what effect what you do eat has on your blood sugars then you'll be fine.

The advice from your nurse is the equivalent of saying to someone with a nut allergy; make sure you eat nuts at every meal but just remember to take your antihistamine too, although with you she's saying we'll look at giving you some antihistamine after 3 months so it's almost worse than that...

Your pancreas will be able to tolerate a certain amount of carbohydrate; you need to find what type and how much that is. In terms of weight loss my personal opinion is that there is no better way to reduce weight that to reduce your carbohydrate intake ideally to a level where you are in a state where you metabolize fat; a ketotic state. Have a search around this site for more information, but the basics of that diet is the fact that carbohydrates drive insulin production which drives fat accumulation.

Best

Dillinger
 

millie_uk

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It's only been 18 days since diagnosis and I've only really been aware of the extent that carbs can make the bg go sky high since I got my monitor on Saturday.
One slice of Bergens soya and linseed bread and it went to 12.7 from 8.2 fasting and yesterday 4 hours after my porridge and blueberries I ended up at 15.3 (8.2 fasting)

Now today by lunchtime I was coming back into single figures and decided to have smoked haddock, tomato, cucumber and a little red pepper. Afternoon readings were 9.9 and 8.9, no double figures at all.
For dinner I had baked haddock and brocolli with a small portion of cheese to add taste. At 1 hour reading was 8.9 and at 2 hours it was 8.2 (same as my fasting level)

This clearly lets me see that the carbs are what's pushing the bg up and I need to get it down so I am going to try low carb meals but will need to find out what works and how to get variety, how much carbs to try and which ones.
I want to try some cherries tonight for a snack but unsure if it will put the bg up much. I'm fine with nuts and seeds.

What about blueberries? I love them but not sure if it was a combination of them and the oats that pushed it up yesterday.

I must say I am delighted to have discovered this forum. Some people might be disappointed with a reading of 8.2 but after such a short time I am really pleased to be seeing a reduction especially as I am a large lady and had such a bad diet for quite some time.

Not on any medication yet, will see what they say at my next appointment in June. Of course, I will have to listen to the 'advice' the nurse gives me but will tell her about my meter and my readings and why I am giving the carbs at every meal a miss.

Many thanks for the replies, everyone is very helpful here.

Millie ......
 

Grazer

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The blueberries were ok. Berries are the best of the fruits. It's the oats that sent you up to really high numbers.
 

SandrafromOZ

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Hi Millie, welcome to the forum..you sound like you are doing a terrific job..I was diagnosed at the end of March and like you I suffered from thrush almost constantly last year and was too busy and too scared to get myself of to the doc for a checkup.

It took me nearly a month to get my numbers down to a respectable level and I still have readings of between 6 and 8.5 when I get up but doc not concerned at my morning readings. One little bit of advice I can give is if you can walk, I walk with hubby 30min each day and I am loosing weight and feeling fitter than I have ever, it does take some time Millie, you have come to the right place.

Take care

Sandra
 

lucylocket61

Expert
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6,435
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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The advice from your nurse is the equivalent of saying to someone with a nut allergy; make sure you eat nuts at every meal but just remember to take your antihistamine too, although with you she's saying we'll look at giving you some antihistamine after 3 months so it's almost worse than that...

Brilliant example Dillinger. It explains the dietary advice situation very well :clap:

Can I use it at my next DSN meeting?
 

millie_uk

Active Member
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Ah, here I was, thinking cherries were ok to eat. I had my reading of 8.2 after dinner and again later, then after eating 9 cherries, 4 almonds, 4 walnut halves and a few pumpkin seeds my reading after 1.5 hours is 15.5

Never mind, I'm learning fast!

Thanks again for the replies.
 

RoyG

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Millie, I am not long diagnosed myself and managing to keep my readings low, I try and aim for around 50g of Carbs a day and am putting together an excel spread sheet of food I like and carb amounts in each, I just do a running total on my computer or phone totals always showing at bottom, so I know when nearing my max, when I am finished I hope to have a big working menu some of the selections you will find in low carb diet section on Forum there are loads of great choices. If I am high with some that is me airing on the safe side and most meats and fish have little to no carbs but I like to give them some content.

Strawberry 1" each 0.54g
Raspberry 1 normal size 2.27g
Blueberry 1 0.2g
Cup of tea each 0.71g
cup of coffee each 0.37g
cheese (arbitrary No) 2.75g
Chicken " 1g
ham " 0.5g
Bacon " 0.36g
Egg 0.5g
Sausage " 0.1g
steak " 1g
pork " 1g
Ice cream/Low carb 3.2g
Small new potatoe boiled 5g
cream/Full fat " 2.79g
milk 1fl oz in tea/coffee 1.38g
muesli two dessert spoons 7g
almond each 0.24g
Burgan bread per slice 16.9g
Cheese broc & still pie 2.3g
Mince cheese burger pie 9g
Cinnamon Meringues 1.4g
Rich tea biscuit 5.6g
Fillet of salmon/butterherbs 0.3g
Mixed salad with dressing 0.4g
Beef stir fry 20g
 

ExpectSuccess

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Messages
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idiot advice about cals in and cals out and gms of carbs to eat per day from so-called professionals
Hi Guys
As a type one for almost 20 years; historically my hba1c has crept up from 6.2 in 1993 to 8.3 2012 now, whilst following NHS standard dietetics advice on carbs and I am now rapidly getting more foot and hand motor neuropathy (distorted toes and finger joints, and numbness). My NHS Doctor recently said (brightly) oh, you've got hammer toes, would you like an operation to correct them....... no, I said, I'd really like to die with my feet on, preferably in my 90's with all my digits and mental faculties!!
I then decided to find my own salvation and discovered Dr Richard Bernstein and his low (nil) carb diabetes solution.(for his book go to Amazon). Also valuable for type 2 and 1 diabetics is Leslie Kenton's www.curaromana .com if you are overweight (I was, a few kilos, but I'm not after doing her curaromana program last december. My sugar levels are now coming down altho its quite testing getting the balance right; ive come down from industrial doses of insulin, levemir (40 a day) and humalog (30 a day) to 25 levemir and about 10 humalog. I now eat a high protein, high fat almost nil diet; keytones seem to be ok, have a meter and test every day.
 

ExpectSuccess

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idiot advice about cals in and cals out and gms of carbs to eat per day from so-called professionals
Almost nil carbohydrate, that should say above... sorry!
 

clarusblue

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17
A nice breakfast is scrambled eggs with some kind of meat chopped into it, I had scrambled eggs with bits of sausage in it, lovely and does nothing to by blood sugar
 

millie_uk

Active Member
Messages
27
Todays fasting reading was 7.9 and it's been only 19 days.
Breakfast today was a 2 egg omlette with one slice of ham, some red pepper and one of those little individually wrapped pieces of mild cheddar.
After 2 hours bg was 9.9 which went down to 8 after 4 hours, so no double figures today yet.
Lunch was 2 slices of bacon, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and half a grapefruit so will see after 2 hours what the bg is.

I threw the cherries in the bin after twice trying them and getting readings of over 15.

I am very tired today and yesterday but really unsure of what carbs to try. Might try the Bergen soya and linseed bread again but bg was 12.7 after one slice with my eggs.

I know there will be a lot of trial and error along the way but I am so pleased that my bg is coming down so quickly through changing the diet and not following the advice at the clinic which was keeping it well into double figures all the time but still much lower than it was and the thrush and urine infections disappeared quickly and my insect bite of 8 months is also healed. I dread to think how high my sugars were and for how long.

This is a great website and forum. Cheers to all who replied.
 

Sunny

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Tablets (oral)
Really sorry Dillinger & Lucylocket but am going to have to pick you up on the allergy thing. I totally agree that the diet advice given is terrible - but if you once gave nuts to someone with a true nut allergy they would very likely die there & then. I have severe allergies including to nuts & have gone into anaphylactic shock from just walking into a room where someone had been eating peanut butter!!!
Antihistamines do very little to protect against severe allergies (of which nuts is one of the worst) - i take 3 antihistamines/ day each at 3x the adult dose & steroids & I still have to use my Epipen on average twice/ week!!
Allergies are very poorly understood (like Diabetes) & it does make it much harder to live with -so had to say something!!!!
 

Etty

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367
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
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Diet only
millie_uk said:
T

I am very tired today and yesterday but really unsure of what carbs to try. Might try the Bergen soya and linseed bread again but bg was 12.7 after one slice with my eggs.
Welcome millie, you're doing really well. Don't get downhearted about symptoms like tiredness, they are very common to begin with when people switch from running on carbs to running on fat. Be sure not to go hungry, eat as much as you want of protein and fat foods, and don't worry about the fat content. You need those calories to replace lost carb calories. Forget about low calorie foods. Eat a good portion of protein at every meal.
Having some extra salt on your food for the first few weeks will help with the transition side effects.
Most of your carbs can come from vegetables (not root veg like potatoes/parnsips), a little fruit, nuts and dairy products. When I started, I used to substitute ryvita for bread. It has half the carbs, and gives you something to spread butter and cheese on.
If you haven't seen these websites, they are helpful for ideas of what to eat.
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
http://translate.google.com/transla...layout=2&eotf=1&u=http://annikadahlqvist.com/ and follow the link to IF LCHF at the top of the page.
 

millie_uk

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Messages
27
I have now had 2 days where my bg has stayed in single figures, it's been 20 days since diagnosis but I know I have had diabetes for quite some time, looking back.
Fasting readings since I started testing on Sunday morning have been, sun 8.2, mon 8.2, tue 7.9, wed 7.8 and the highest reading has been 9.9 with many in the 8's. I am eating very little carbs at all, lots of fish, chicken, cheese, salad veg, green beans, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, nuts and seeds and Ceylon cinnamon for sweetness in rhubarb.

Will it be ok to stay off carbs in the longer term? I know my bgs will shoot up if I eat bread, cereal etc.

Will I be put on medication after the three months? Will my bg come down further? I've only been reading up on it since diagnosis and have lots to learn.

Going on holiday to Cornwall tomorrow for ten days so will have red wine but not the heavy takeaways, I will cook most nights and at the steak house I will not have chips, just the steak and vegetables.

I feel so much better and got rid of all symptoms quickly so that has to be good.

Thanks for all the hints and tips so far.

Millie.